To amend the Export Administration Act of 1979 to require reviews of the commodity control list.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

August 4, 1995

Mr. MINETA introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on International Relations

A BILL

To amend the Export Administration Act of 1979 to require reviews of the commodity control list.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

This Act may be cited as the ‘Technology Export Review Act’.

SEC. 2. ANNUAL REVIEW OF CONTROLLED ITEMS.

Section 4 of the Export Administration Act of 1979 (50 U.S.C. App. 2403) is amended by adding at the end the following:

‘(h) CONTROL LIST REVIEW-

‘(1) IN GENERAL- In order to ensure that requirements for validated licenses to export are periodically removed as goods and technology become obsolete with respect to the specific objectives of the export controls requiring such licenses, the Secretary shall conduct periodic reviews of such controls imposed under sections 5 and 6. The Secretary shall complete such a review not later than 6 months after the date of the enactment of this subsection, and not later than the end of each 1-year period thereafter.

‘(2) REVIEW ELEMENTS- In conducting each review under paragraph (1), the Secretary shall do the following with respect to the export controls requiring a license described in paragraph (1):

‘(A) OBJECTIVES OF CONTROLS- The Secretary shall identify the specific objectives of the export controls, for the 12-month period following the completion of the review, for each country or group of countries for which a validated license is required. When an objective of an export control is to defer the development of a specific capability in such country or group of countries, the Secretary shall specify for what period of time the controls are expected to defer such capability.

‘(B) QUANTITY AND PERFORMANCE- The Secretary shall estimate, for the 12-month period described in subparagraph (A), the quantities and performance (as specified in specific performance parameters on the control list) of the goods and technology to which the controls apply that must be obtained by each country or group of countries for which a validated license is required in order to defeat the objectives of the export controls.

‘(C) AVAILABILITY TO CONTROLLED DESTINATIONS- The Secretary shall evaluate the effectiveness of the export controls in achieving their specific objectives, including explicit descriptions of the availability from sources outside the United States, or from sources inside the United States resulting from the inability of the United States Government to effectively enforce controls, during the 12-month period described in subparagraph (A), to controlled countries of goods and technology to which the export controls apply.

‘(D) ECONOMIC IMPACT- The Secretary shall evaluate the economic impact, during the 12-month period described in subparagraph (A), of the export controls on exporting companies, including estimates of lost sales, loss in market share, and administrative overhead.

‘(3) CHANGES IN CONTROLS-

‘(A) CHANGES- After completing each review under this subsection, the Secretary shall, if warranted by the findings of the review and after consultation with appropriate departments or agencies--

‘(i) eliminate the requirement for an export license for a particular good or technology;

‘(ii) make such a good or technology eligible for delivery under a distribution license or other license authorizing multiple exports;

‘(iii) eliminate a performance threshold or other characteristic upon which the requirement for a validated license for such a good or technology is based; or

‘(iv) increase the performance levels at which an individual validated license for such a good or technology is required, at which it is eligible for delivery under a distribution license, or at which special conditions or security safeguard plans are imposed as a condition of export.

‘(4) HEARINGS- The Secretary shall conduct public hearings not less than once each year in order to solicit information from all interested parties on all matters to be addressed in each review conducted under this subsection.

‘(5) REMOVAL OF CONTROLS ON MASS-MARKET PRODUCTS-

‘(A) MASS-MARKET PRODUCTS DEFINED- For the purposes of this paragraph, the term ‘mass-market product’ means any good or technology sold, licensed, or otherwise distributed as a discrete item and which will have been distributed for end use outside the United States in a quantity exceeding 100,000 units over a 12-month period, as determined under subparagraph (B).

‘(B) ANTICIPATORY REVIEW OF MASS-MARKET PRODUCTS- Not later than--

‘(i) 6 months after the date of the enactment of this subsection, and

‘(ii) the end of each 1-year period thereafter,

the Secretary shall, in consultation with the appropriate technical advisory committee, industry groups, and producers, identify those items described in subparagraph (A) (including products differentiated on the control list according to specific performance parameters) that will be distributed for end use outside the United States in a quantity exceeding 100,000 units beginning on the applicable date described in clause (i) or (ii). For purposes of this paragraph, estimates of numbers of items that will be distributed shall be based on reliable estimates provided by producers of such items.

‘(C) ACTION BY THE SECRETARY- Not later than 30 days after an item is determined by the Secretary under subparagraph (B) to be a mass-market product, the Secretary shall propose to any group of countries which imposes export controls on the item cooperatively with the United States the elimination of controls on the item in accordance with the procedures of such group, and shall publish a notice of such proposal in the Federal Register.

‘(6) RELATIONSHIP TO OTHER PROVISIONS- The requirements of this subsection are in addition to any other requirements of this Act. The Secretary may coordinate reviews under this subsection with reviews conducted under section 5(c).’.

SEC. 3. EQUAL TREATMENT OF COMPONENTS.

Section 4 of the Export Administration Act of 1979 is amended by adding at the end the following new subsection:

‘(i) TREATMENT OF SEMICONDUCTORS- The export control treatment imposed under the authority of this Act upon semiconductor devices shall be no more restrictive or burdensome to the exporter than the export control treatment imposed under the authority of this Act upon computer systems or telecommunications systems for which the semiconductor devices serve or can serve as components.’.

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